The invention relates to a thrust plate unit for a friction clutch, especially for a motor vehicle.
Thrust plate units for conventional friction clutches have a clutch cover of approximately annular pot form which comprises an annular face wall part and a side wall part standing axially away from the face wall part. The side wall part is secured to the fly-wheel at its edge axially remote from the face wall part. The clutch cover encloses an annular presser plate and a diaphragm spring arranged axially between the face wall part of the clutch cover and the presser plate. The diaphragm spring is supported on a circle with a first diameter on the face wall part and on a circle with a second diameter on the presser plate and presses the presser plate, through a clutch disc, against the fly-wheel. The presser plate is guided non-rotatably but axially movably on the clutch cover through several approximately tangentially extending leaf springs distributed in the circumferential direction.
In conventional thrust plate units the leaf springs are secured by one end to radially outwardly protruding extensions of the presser plate. With their other end the leaf springs are secured to extensions of the clutch cover. The extensions of the presser plate protrude into recesses or domed-out portions of the side wall part. U.S. Pat. No. 2,770,341 shows examples of this for a pressed-type clutch and German Patent No. 1,555,408 examples for a pulled-type clutch.
In the known thrust plate units the clutch cover has a comparatively complicated form or openings are provided in the side wall parts which are detrimental to the stability of the clutch cover.
The invention improves the thrust plate unit of a friction clutch and provides a thrust plate unit having a comparatively simple and nevertheless stable clutch cover.